As the Punjab government imposed a 14-day ban on all public visits and meetings with the former premier in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail last week citing “security threats,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government Tuesday urged the former to hand over incarcerated party founder Imran Khan to it.
In a statement, Adviser to KP Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif asked the Punjab government to hand over Khan to the KP government if it was unable to provide security to the incarcerated former prime minister.
Last week, Khan was barred from holdings meetings inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail for two weeks. According to a notification issued by Punjab’s Home Department, all kinds of visits, meetings, and interviews have been restricted in Adiala Jail due to security alert.
The Punjab government had clarified that the restrictions imposed in the Jail were not aimed at hindering meetings of the PTI leaders with the party’s founder.
“This move wasn’t made to take away any facility from him [Khan]. There is a serious threat alert, which is under investigation,” Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bukhari had told Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada.
She said the fresh restrictions were imposed, as a few days back, the law enforcers had arrested terrorists who possessed a map of the jail in which Khan is currently imprisoned.
On the other hand, the PTI leadership believed that it was a deliberate plan to stop them from meeting party the party’s founder.
Reacting to the ban on meetings in the jail, Barrister Saif said that all the prisoners were facing difficulties due to the restrictions imposed in the name of “security concerns”.
Slamming the Maryam Nawaz-led provincial government, the KP CM’s aide urged the rulers in Punjab to hand over the prisoners to them instead of causing “pain and suffering” to them due to their “incompetence and fear of Khan”.
“Maryam Nawaz is busy in photo shoots instead of doing any work in Punjab,” he said.
“In Punjab, a drama is being played to hide incompetence,” Saif added.
Responding to his criticism today, Punjab Information Minister Bukhari clarified that Khan and her wife Bushra Bibi among all the inmates in the provincial jails are “safe”.
Taking a dig at Khan, she said: “A person who robbed billions of rupees is getting the best security and food facilities in jail.”
